Smith & Wesson, the legendary gun maker whose sales plummeted after it pledged to install safety devices, has been sold by its British owner for just $15 million to Sat-T-Hammer Corp., a tiny start-up in Arizona that makes trigger locks.

Saf-T-Hammer of Scottsdale, Arizona, announced the agreement Monday with Tomkins PLC, which has owned Springfield-based Smith & Wesson since 1987.

Under the agreement, Saf-T-Hammer assumes liability for the numerous lawsuits filed against Smith & Wesson over gun deaths.

"That is reflected in the price," said Michael Blogg, an analyst at the London brokerage Charterhouse Securities. Tomkins paid $112.5 million for privately held Smith & Wesson 14 years ago.

Mitchell Saltz, Saf-T-Hammer founder and chief executive, said the entire $15 million purchase is being funded by a private investor. The investor will be identified when the company files paperwork with the Security and Exchange Commission.

Smith & Wesson is the nation's oldest and was once its largest handgun maker.

Saf-T-Hammer was founded in 1991 and has just five employees, Saltz said.

Last year, in an attempt to extricate itself from liability suits brought by 32 cities and other governments, Smith & Wesson signed an agreement with the Clinton administration to install safety locks on all its guns and adopt other safety features and marketing changes.